Friday, August 23, 2013

The Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

To the families who have lost a loved one due to a work related incident, we are here to help you in any way. Please know our thoughts are with you.

May 28, 2013 - Copiah County, MS - 42 year old Michael Castelli of Baton Rouge, LA and 32 year old Johnny Martone of Taylorsville, MS were both killed on the job when they fell from a cell phone tower while working in Copiah County. They were adding new antennas to the tower when it reports state there was a failure to a cable. They were employed by Byrd Telecom.

July 5, 2013 - Medford, MA - 45 year old James Baldasarre collapsed on the job and died at hospital after suffering from heat exhaustion. He was working for the US Postal Service from the Medford Post Office. He complained to his wife earlier in the day about the heat.

July 5 - Auburn, WA - 56 year old Brian Love was killed on the job when his taxi was struck by an alleged drunk motorist driving a large van. He was employed by Tim's Taxi.

July 5 - Chicago, IL - 36 year old Luis Mercado was killed after being struck by a Metra Electric Train while performing track work. He was a trackman for Metra.

July 6 - Leisenring, PA - 53 year old Glenn Nicholson, Jr. was killed on the job when he was crushed under the bed of a dump truck he was working on. It appears he was self employed.

July 9 - Bismark, ND - 42 year old Namon Smith of Chattanooga, TN and 25 year old Zachary Roberts of Lakeland, GA died on the job after falling from a cell phone tower. The men were adding structural supports to the tower when one of the men fell, striking the other man, causing him to fall also. Both workers were wearing safety harnesses and hard hats. The men worked for Monarch Towers, a subcontractor for Basin Electric Power.

July 9 - Omro, WI - Paul Olsen, a skydiving instructor for Skydive Adventure, was killed on the job during a tandem skydiving jump. As the winds grew stronger the pair were blown off course and ended up in Lake Butte des Morts where Olsen drowned. The student was able to swim to shore.
July 10 - Fife, WA - Craig Coelho died of natural causes while working at L & L Nursery Supply.

July 11 - Redwood City, CA - 43 year old Mendie Udo died on the job when he was crushed inside a cardboard baler. He was a janitor working for Grocery Outlet of Redwood City.

July 12 - Olympia, WA - 64 year old Marvin Komenda suffered a stroke while driving an empty school bus and later died. He was employed by School District #3 Thurston County.

July 15 - Howard Lake, MN - 23 year old Brandon Scherping of Annandale died of crushing injuries when a piece of farm equipment he was working on suddenly fell onto him. He was working for Midwest Machinery.

July 15 - Dearborn, MI - 20 year old Brenna Machus was found dead in a field three days after being taken from the Dollar General store by someone who attempted to rob the store. He co-worker, Joseph Orlando was found shot to death at the store by workers arriving to work the next morning.

July 15 - Zanesville, OH - 57 year old Gary L. Henry of Dennison was struck and killed while working along a highway construction area. He was working behind a concrete barrier when a fully loaded dump truck backed into him. He was employed by Shelly & Sands Inc. of Zanesville.

July 17 - Homer, AK - 26 year old Brian Mitvitnikoff of Anchorage died on the job from unknown circumstances but while he was walking between two drilling sites. Co-workers heard a garbled call over the radio and he was found as they went to search for him. He was employed by Crew 84 at a SAExploration drilling operation.

July 17 - Woodland, WA - 51 year old Timothy Ray Morris was killed on the job when a felled tree struck him. He was owner of Five Star Logging.

July 17 - Springfield, MO - Matthew Chwirka died from burns due to a combustible dust flash fire while working for Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies.

July 18 - Winkler County, TX - Levis Awbry of Kermit died on the job when he was apparently overcome by Hydrogen Sulfide gasses while standing on top of a tank battery while working at an oilfield. He told a co-worker that he smelled gas and then saw him fall off the tank. He was employed by Bass Enterprises.

July 18 - Arkansas City, KS - 57 year old Richard Gates of Blackwell, OK died when he was injured inside a cattle pen at Creekstone Farms in Arkansas City while transferring the animals from one pen to another. He was a truck driver for J. Butler Trucking Company.

July 19 - Lafayette, IN - 50 something Jay Summers was killed on the job when he was struck by a trailer on a construction site at Purdue University campus. Summers was trying to pick up some concrete forms that had fallen off the trailer when the truck's driver, thinking Summers was out of the way, began to drive away. He was employed by Fairfield Contractors.

July 20 - Fayetteville, GA - 21 year old Johnathan Siroky was killed on the job when a crane arm fell on him. As the crane was being dismantled, a strap holding the arm broke and Siroky was pinned between the crane arm and a trailer door while working at Graphic Packaging International of Macon. He was an employee with Phoenix Crane.

July 22 - Kansas City, MO - 40 year old Donald Fenton died on the job after of toxic exposure in a confined space. He was working alone repairing a pipe in a sewer when a temporary plug gave way and the space filled up with sewage. He was an employee for Kansas City Water.

July 22 - Las Vegas, NV - 36 year old David Vanbuskirk died on the job when he fell into a canyon as he was helping to hoist a stranded hiker into a helicopter. It is unclear how he became detached from the line he was on with the hiker. He was a member of and employed by Las Vegas Metro's Search and Rescue and was soon to become a Metro police officer.

July 22 - Crenshaw, MS - 56 year old Fire Chief Hubert Joyner died on August 8, after being injured in a building collapse. As he walked along next to a building after a storm, the roof collapsed and the wall bucked outward with debris striking Joyner. Along with his injuries he suffered a heart attack while in the hospital.

July 23 - Omaha, NE - 52 year old Walter Bequette died on the job while working on a roof in West Omaha. His co-worker realized Bequette's hammer had stopped so went to investigate. He found him unconscious. It is unclear who he was employed by.

July 23 - Franklin, OH - 48 year old Terry Ray was killed on the job when he was caught in a moving piece of a pulp dryer while working for Cheney Pulp & Paper Company.

July 23 - New Milton, WV - 45 year old Tommy Paxton of Walton, WV died after being burned on July 7 in a Doddridge gas well explosion. He an employee for C & R Downhole Drilling, Inc. , a subcontractor working for Antero Resources.

July 24 - Prineville, OR - 27 year old Joshua Lee Ketchem of Redman was killed on the job when a 1,500 pound metal press fell on him. He was employed by Fontana Wood Products.

July 25, Vienna, MD - 41 year old Michael Frontiero Cortes of Morovis, Puerto Rico died on the job when he fell approximately 25 feet from a radio-cell tower. He was employed by Konet Corporation of Puerto Rico.

July 24 - Bridgeport, TX - 50 year old Jose Landeros of Chico was killed on the job from blunt force injuries. He was welding on the back of an empty tanker truck when it exploded, throwing back several feet. He was employed by Bridgeport Tank Trucks.

July 26 - Pasco, WA - Steven Matrin of Kennewick died of an unknown cause while working on a concrete finishing job in Pasco. He was employed by Jewell Darrell Edwin.

July 27 - Bethlehem, PA - 42 year old Robert Rogers III of Orefield, PA was electrocuted while in a bucket truck working to clear trees from power lines. He was a employed by Asplundh Tree Expert Co., a subcontractor for PPL Utilities.

July 27 - Thompson Falls, MT - 35 year old Todd Mark Hanawalt of Bozeman was killed when the helicopter he was piloting went down near Thompson Falls. Reports state he was surveying power lines in a private chopper when it crashed. Two co-workes also in the chopper were injured. He was employed with Summit Air Ambulance.

July 27 - Seattle, WA - 50 year old Damien Sluka died of natural causes while working a moving job for National Moving & Storage, Inc.

July 28 - New Milton, WV - 37 year old Jason Mearns of Elkins died after being burned on July 7 in a Doddridge gas well explosion. He worked for Nabors Corporation Systems, a sub contractor for Antero Resources.

July 29 - Ripon, CA - 53 year old Joseph Carl Wagner died from injuries he received when he was run over by his farm tractor. It seems he was caught on a tree branch, causing him to fall from the machine where he was then run over. He was a self employed almond farmer.

July 30 - Cleveland, OH - 48 year old Mohammed Ismail was shot to death during a robbery at the Biggie's gas/convenience store he owned. He died at an area hospital after being shot in the back.

July 30 - Martinsville, VA - 53 year old James Manuel Carter, Jr. was killed on the job when he was struck by a felled tree. According to the report, Carter was mostly pitching in to help others who had been hired to move a tree in a residential area. He was, however, working we feel.

July 30 - LaCrosse, WI - 40 year old Eric Lecher died on the job when he some how fell into a cold furnace while performing routine maintenance for Torrance Casting foundry.

July 30 - Merced, CA - 43 year old Jose Jimenez of Lodi died on the job when he became pinned between a piece of heavy machinery and a concrete barrier while working along a highway construction area. He was employed by Teichert Construction.